Tourism

With Compra a Casa website, Consell and Pimef connect shoppers with local businesses

Wednesday, 19 February 2020 14:29

Formentera’s deputy vice-president and councillor of trade, Ana Juan, met with the chairman and director of the small- and medium-sized business association of Formentera (Pimef), Josep Mayans and Lidia Álvarez, to unveil the brand-new Compra a Casa website, www.compraacasa.com.

Juan called the website “a tool that, in just one click, brings island businesses closer to local shoppers”. “Buying local doesn’t just put islanders to work; it raises the profile of locally-crafted wares and homegrown produce too. When we talk about sustainability we’re also talking about patronising Formentera businesses as a way to promote these products”, said Juan, who pointed out the new portal grew out of a project called Joves Qualificats—“Qualified Youth”— involving Alba Portas and Maria Antònia Martorell. The first deputy vice-president applauded the two young women for their efforts.

With Compra a Casa shoppers can see businesses on a map or narrow them down based on characteristics such as location. Each establishment has a profile where shoppers can view details like star products and sales in both Catalan and Spanish.

Touting the success of Compra a Casa’s loyalty programme, the Pimef chairman pointed to a membership roll of nearly 2,500. “That’s all quarter of all islanders,” Mayans said. “We’re talking about high customer loyalty.” Thirty local businesses currently take part in Compra a Casa and, according to Mayans, “with the new website, there’s never been a better time for new businesses to join”.

Ms Álvarez gave a presentation on how the portal works, pointing out shoppers can request their Compra a Casa loyalty card online, where they can also do an array of other things, like track card status, review purchases and learn about discounts.

This winter, buy localJuan, Mayans and Álvarez also pointed up Compra a Casa’s newest buy-local push, designed to reward islanders for shopping in winter. During the last week of every month until March, purchases at participating businesses of at least €15 will automatically enter shoppers into a drawing for a €50 gift-card. The February drawing will happen the first week in March; the March drawing, the first week in April.

19 February 2020Department of CommunicationConsell de Formentera

In Barcelona, Formentera touts appeal as destination for underwater activities

Monday, 17 February 2020 11:21

The Formentera Department of Tourism reports that from 14 to 16 February, local representatives of the island were in Cornellà, near Barcelona, at the Mediterranean Diving Show. One of the biggest underwater activities expo in Spain, the trade fair brought together professionals, hobbyists and fans of diving and other under-the-sea vocations.

Marketing chief Carlos Bernús underscored the “warm welcome” the island’s handlers received at the expo, as well as the “keen interest” of expo-goers in Formentera as a destination. For three days, local reps greeted visitors with pamphlets and promo material and talked up initiatives like Save Posidonia Project and the scheme to count and cap in-bound vehicles. “The typical expo-goer is very tuned in to ecology and sustainable projects”, said Bernús.

Spokespeople from the local government were joined at the expo by the managing staff of Formentera Divers dive centre, who fielded questions from people, business reps and niche magazines about the island’s cache of undersea secrets.

Formentera’s attendance at the Mediterranean Diving Show grew out of a request from the active tourism section of the island’s Strategic Tourism Sectors initiative, or SETS, an initiative promoting public-private collaboration as a way to diversify and tailor products to increase the competitiveness of local businesses. At the end of March Formentera will also take part in the More Aqua Show, another expo dedicated to the world of underwater activities.

Having maintained a promotional presence at Milan’s International Travel Expo (Borsa Internazionale del Turismo, or BIT) since Sunday, the island’s spokespeople at the expo head home today. Describing the Italian market as both “vast and loyal”, marketing chief Carlos Bernús, who was in Milan for the event, said Team Formentera was leaving the three-day, public-and-professional travel show “with bright prospects relative to Italian travellers in 2020”.

At an 8.30pm presentation on Monday, niche and local media outlets and tour operators got a look at Formentera’s credentials as a sustainable destination. Local reps reviewed the island’s already checkered history as far as sustainability is concerned: “Years ago we slashed plastic bags use, in 2017 we launched Save Posidonia Project and last summer we capped entry of in-bound vehicles with formentera.eco.”

According to Bernús, reps played up the island’s image and pointed to “vast possibilities for the visitor, especially in the low season, when our calendar of sport fixtures and cultural programming comes alive”.

Dedicated standFrom Formentera’s very own stand at the event, the island’s representatives distributed promotional material underlining sport- and culture-focused programming and other perks of visiting away from the traditional summer season. They also pushed “Slow Food Formentera”, a map of local growers and businesses trading in locally-sourced products that the island’s handlers have teed up for the season ahead.

11 February 2020Department of CommunicationConsell de Formentera

Formentera Fotogràfica once again brings wisdom of photo masters to island audiences

Thursday, 13 February 2020 12:42

Formentera’s tourism department reports that from 29 April to 3 May, the island will play host to the eighth Formentera Fotogràfica. The five-day festival aims to get industry professionals, students and photo connoisseurs from Spain and farther afield learning from each other and sharing expertise in a one-of-a-kind island setting.

Framing Formentera Fotogràfica as part of the initiative to promote off-season travel known as Discover Formentera in May, president and tourism chief Alejandra Ferrer the event “puts the island in the line of sight of untold photography fans for whom Formentera is the perfect backdrop”. Discounts are available to Formentera residents, whose €165 price-tag to participate is only half the standard €325. Signups can be completed at https://www.formenterafotografica.com.

SpeakersFormentera Fotogràfica will see USA native Donna Ferrato and Marseille-born Antoine d’Agata joined by stars of the Spanish photography scene like Vari Caramés, Miguel Oriola and Manuel Outumuro.

In 2019, Ferrato, an activist and one of the world’s premier champions of documentary photojournalism, was honoured with the PhotoEspaña Award. She crosses the Atlantic now to share notes from the war on gender violence and talk about her commitment to women’s rights, gender equality and sexual liberation.

D’Agata is both a photographer and filmmaker. He arrives at Formentera Fotogràfica —a clip of his newest production, White noise, in tow— still buzzing from rave audience reviews at Rotterdam’s International Film Festival. White noise offers a look back at the last thirty years of this Magnum Photos heavyweight’s career.

DocumentaryBefore screening Silence Sounds Good at Sant Francesc’s Sala de Cultura at 10.00pm on Wednesday 29 April, Adriana López Sanfeliu won the 2019 Dart Festival’s accolade for Best Spanish Picture. The film is a tribute to the over 70-year career of French national (and additional Magnum Photos crew member) Elliott Erwitt.The documentary is free and open to the public.

Exhibit by Toni CatanyLa Mola’s lighthouse and Sant Francesc’s Sala d’Exposicions will both have their chance to host Toni Catany’s Altars profans—an exhibition co-presented by the Formentera Department of Culture and Fundació Toni Catany.

Catany’s stopover on the island happens thanks to the Llucmajor native’s namesake foundation. The tireless Majorcan photographer was still readying the exhibit for a stint in Barcelona’s Trama gallery when he died in October 2013. “I’m thrilled that islanders and photo aficionados are getting their chance to see Altars profans”, said culture councillor Susana Labrador. “The show is vital for anyone who wants to learn more about this native son of the Balearics”, said Labrador, calling it “the perfect fit for two galleries where it’s being shown”.

Altars profans will be at the Sala d’Exposicions ‘Ajuntament Vell’ until 2 May (the exhibit opens 8.00pm on 15 April) and La Mola lighthouse until the end of June.

Photography and placeTwo traits do more than anything else to define Formentera Fotogràfica: its small scale and coupling of photography with place. Eight years on, organisers of the limited-capacity event see Formentera Fotogràfica as a chance to focus on quality learning and respect for the surroundings. The encounter features lectures, clinics, master classes, exhibits, AV screenings, portfolio viewings and guided visits of local heritage sites. Workshops blending hands-on and theory-based learning in indoor spaces like the Sala de Cultura in Sant Francesc sit alongside outdoor programming where participants breathe in the fresh air. It’s an invitation to enjoy, discuss and ponder photography, share in challenges and exchange expertise with individuals from across the world of photography.

13 February 2020Department of CommunicationConsell de Formentera

Catalina Escandell is Compra a Casa’s buy-local winner for January

Tuesday, 11 February 2020 12:24

Catalina Escandell was named the January winner of a special campaign backed by the local government and Eivissa and Formentera’s small- and medium-sized business association, Pimef, to promote local businesses in winter. Mayans, a card-carrying Compra a Casa shopper since January 2017, came away with a €50 gift card. Purchases made in participating businesses automatically enter cardholders into a drawing held during the first week of the following month. The February drawing will be held the first week in March, the March drawing the first week in April.